see.solar submitted this infographic to us, along with a quick description:

Mankind wouldn’t be where it is today without crude energy. We’ve built great buildings, made huge technological advancements and created modern day society using coal, petroleum and natural gas. But, it’s these same things that now present us with a growing harm: global warming. It’s time to curb our dependence on fossil fuels and shift towards using renewable, sustainable energy resources—like solar power. It can all begin at home. A solar home is not only eco-friendly, but also cost-efficient. Solar cuts back on monthly utility costs. Go to see.solar to find the right solar solution for your home.

There’s a lot to look at in this infographic, and plenty of it does a great job of telling the design’s story — particularly the header image. However, as it continues on down the design it begins to look a little busy, and it’s tough to tell where one point ends and another begins. A little more focus on layout and section headers rather than busy background images would help the viewer concentrate more on the information and create a more streamlined story.

The donut and pie charts seen about halfway through the infographic are examples of great data visualization techniques to use when looking at individual parts that add up to 100%. However, always be sure to use data visualizations that accurately represent your data and the point you’re making, becuase the first data visualization on this infographic is visually confusing. We have 2 images illustrating 5% and 25%, but they are at the same horizontal level. This is a tricky form of data visualization, because it’s tough for the human eye to discern a percentage filled in an asymmetrical object, and the two objects have different baselines. As a result, the 5% and 25% end up looking almost equal. Perhaps a pie chart approach for each of these numbers could have better illustrated the difference.

In all, I’d give this design a C+. It’s concise and only includes relevant information, but a better layout and a simpler visual approach could help the information stand out more and keep the viewer on track.